The Bosquejo en Riesgo’s Quartet and The Costa Rican Sonic Landscape

ABOUT JOSÉ SOTO:  José is driven by the purpose of creating socially conscious music and art. José Soto, a Costa Rican pianist, composer, and educator, explores free improvisation, jazz, classical music, and Latin American rhythms. He studied at the National University of Costa Rica, the New England Conservatory, and the Berklee Global Jazz Institute. His album “The Ancestral Call,” inspired by the Bribri indigenous culture, won the Gold Medal at the Global Music Awards and was featured in NPR’s Best Alternative Latin Music of 2023, Jazziz Editor’s Choice, NBC New York, and People en Español. Notable jazz musicians such as George Garzone and Francisco Mela contributed to the project. José has toured nationally and internationally, sharing stages with artists like Luciana Souza, Francisco Mela, Danilo Perez, and Eddie Daniels. He currently teaches at Berklee College in Massachusetts.

ABOUT MARIA AMALIA QUESADA:  Singer, Cultural Manager, and Educator. Maria Amalia currently lives in Boston, Massachusetts. She started studying music in Costa Rica at a very young age. Maria Amalia has collaborated and sung with artists such as Danilo Pérez, Jason Yeager, Patricia Zarate, Vardan Ovsepian, Fernando Huergo, Tatiana Parra, Lihi Haruvi, Connor Kent, Jacob Jezioro, Jacob Means, Daniel Patiño Quintana, Humberto Vargas, among others. She had shaped her talent under the guidance of Sofia Rei, Roxana Amed, Dominique Eade, and Rebecca Shrimpton.

As a singer and composer, she co-founded with pianist Jose Soto Bosquejo en Riesgo. This creative music project uses experimentation and improvisation in various genres, from Latin American folklore to jazz. The group’s music conveys the multicultural experience of these expanding musicians, approaching different audiences through original compositions and arrangements from the Latin American imaginary. The group has performed in Costa Rica, Boston, Cambridge, USA, and in festivals in Mexico and Panama.

As Cultural Manager, Maria Amalia is co-founder of the Fundacion Armonia Colectiva and Executive Director of the International Jazz Festival of Costa Rica FIJAZZ. She has given different workshops and lectures on cultural management on national and international levels. She has also worked and collaborated in various cultural projects such as the Executive Director of FEDUJAZZ Foundation and the Dominican Republic Jazz Festival in the Dominican Republic and International Coordinator of the Panama Jazz Festival, among other cultural and social initiatives nationally and internationally.